MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Kevin Garnett collected 18 points, 12
rebounds and eight assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves
extend their season-high winning streak to nine games with an
easy 97-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Wally Szczerbiak added 21 points for Minnesota, which became the
first team to reach 28 wins.

The Clippers led 26-25 after one quarter, but Anthony Peeler
began the second period with a jumper that gave Minnesota the
lead for good. After Elton Brand made a basket to cut the
deficit to 45-38 with 5:24 left, the Timberwolves closed the
half on a 15-2 run and took a 60-40 lead into the break.

"In the second quarter, we turned the ball over four out of
seven possessions, and I think they scored layups on all four
turnovers," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "You're just not
going to beat a good team when you turn the ball over and let
them get out and run. We just had that real bad stretch, which
against a good team is more than enough to kill you."

In the second half, Minnesota led by as many as 27 points and
Los Angeles never got closer than 12.

Minnesota shot 45 percent (41-of-91) from the field and limited
Los Angeles to 39 percent (34-of-90).

Joe Smith returned from an eight-game absence due to injury to
score 17 points and Chauncey Billups had 15 for the Wolves,
whose winning streak is two shy of the franchise record set last
January 17-February 7.

"Joe Smith looked like he hadn't been hurt," Minnesota coach
Flip Saunders said. "He had 17 points and seven rebounds. He
gives our team help on defense. With his length, he helps us out
offensively on the boards, and does a lot of the dirty work. We
look at him as a barometer of our team. If he's getting shots,
then we're playing well."

"All I was thinking about was picking up where I left off," said
Smith, who entered the contest averaging 12.9 points and 7.2
rebounds per game. "We just wanted to keep playing the way we're
playing. I didn't want to mess up the eight-game winning
streak."

Brand had 17 points and 13 rebounds and reserve Darius Miles
added 18 and 10 for the Clippers, who fell to 3-13 on the road
after concluding a 1-5 trip.

"We need to get back home and regroup," Gentry said. "Before we
leave for the next road trip, we need to find a confidence level
to be able to win on the road. Good teams find a way to win road
games."

"We're eager to get home (and) very relieved to know it's over,"
Brand said. "It was a tough road trip for us. We won only one
game. We'll be glad to get home and be in front of our own fans,
and start winning some games again."

"We just didn't play well tonight," said Lamar Odom, who scored
11 points but shot just 5-of-16. "We got beat by a hot team. We
can't make any excuses."

The Wolves avenged a 94-75 loss to the Clippers at the Staples
Center on November 28.

"They should've had a lot of confidence, because they beat us by
20 in their place," Billups said. "The first quarter was kind of
kackadaisical, but the second quarter was big for us, where we
picked up and played `D.' The second quarter -- that was
Timberwolves basketball."